Healing Love
by SayuriNozomi
Summary: "Love hurts" is a well-known proverb. But will it be true for Itachi and Satsuki, too? Can love really only hurt and not heal and help? ... ItachixOC  Satsuki  Lovestory with a little action...
1. Characteristics

**Name:** Satsuki (shore)

**Age**: 17

**Appearance:** -light brown, wavy hair (under shoulder blades) ; gold eyes (at the beginning)

Darkblue, bit wavy hair (to knees) ; lightblue-turqouis eyes

**Abilities**: Very good in Ninjutsu; Good in releasing Genjutsus; Sucks in Taijutsu; Good with Weapons

**Kekkai Genkai**: Complete control over water (also blood though it's more difficult) also a technique, which is activated with the eyes: waterdrops surround her and the enemy and can be used for everything (big waterball, icicle, etc.)

Ninjutsu: 7 Waterdragons

Genjutsu: Waterdrops around her and enemy, illusions on every drop to confuse the enemy

Taijutsu: faster and agiler fighting and moving under water (not able to use that aspect though because of her lack in Taijutsu...)

**Past:**Her parents discovered the profit of her Kekkai Genkai when she turned 6 years old. They began to show-off with their "perfect" daughter and forced her in the shadows to train harder and harder, bringing her everday to her limits. While not getting anything to eat she was supposed to achieve the daily goals her parents set. When she wasn't able to, she was punished. On some days the behavior of her parents almost resembled torture. With 11 years she broke down the first time, during a display of her Kekkai Genkai. Her parents accused her of doing it on purpose to embarrass them in public. Completely out of their mind they attempted to kill Satsuki, their own daughter. Thanks to the water which protected her, the only thing left of that attempt is a scar close to her heart. After a year of escape and not feeling safe anywhere she arrived in Konoha and was allowed to live there. Soon they realized her Kekkai Genkai and her unbelievable strength. She was allowed to skip the Chuunin-exams and was classified straight as a Jonin. She declined a position in the Anbu-ranks and preferred to participate in normal and short missions. Whenever she had free time, she helped in the hospital and was able to even heal the worst and most complicated broken bones and injuries in general. She always put other people's life before her own. Soon Akatsuki heard of her abilities and her talent. 4 months after her 16. Birthday Zetsu was finally able to catch her on a mission.


	2. The Beginning

Exhausted she sank to the ground, ignoring the thorns which pierced her skin. She didn't notice them anymore anyway since they were only the top of the iceberg. Her breath was ragged and hectic, her clothes soaked in blood. Due to an injury on her arm, she had to rip off a piece of her new dark blue top and use it as a bandage, trying to avoid leaving any traces. Suddenly a figure appeared two feet in front of her. The head resembled a plant, while one half of the face was black and the other white. Zetsu. Without actually looking at her, he threw a black cloak in her direction. "You passed the test, Satsuki. Now we'll go the HQ where you'll meet the other members and get your real cloak." Satsuki managed to nod and tried not to show her pain and her weakness. Zetsu turned around and assumed the girl to be following him. Satsuki used a near-standing tree to pull herself up. Nausea hit her. With a quiet swear on her lips, she swallowed her last meal, which was already a day old. Slowly she followed the man… or the plant.

The monotonous wobbling had just become kind of regular as Zetsu suddenly stopped and she ran into him, with the full power of her speed. In a matter of a heartbeat Zetsu had turned and saved her from an impact with the ground. Nevertheless the world around her seemed to consist only of stars. Earlier the pain had changed from a sharp pain into a dull feeling somewhere in the background since she had focused on following Zetsu. But now the pain seemed to explode. Satsuki gasped and a quiet cry filled with pain left her lips. "I hadn't known that it was this bad." Tha black half of Zetsu said, while carefully removing the cloak from the wound. "You should've said something." The white half added friendly. She took a calming breath and pushed away Zetsu's hand. She smiled honestly. Zetsu had not been anything else than nice since she had met him. And he didn't talk too much which pleased her very much. He would understand why she didn't tell him about the extent of her injuries. Whining wouldn't change anything. „It's ok. I'm a little exhausted from that retarded acceptance test, your leader invented. This was pure suicide." Satsuki added smiling. Zetsu had explained to her earlier that usually candidates had to fight a member to have a chance of being accepted. It seemed like the leader wanted something different for her. As weird as that may sound… but that forest with its traps would have been certain death for most Jonin and even Anbu.

She let Zetsu help her to the nearest stream and quickly put her hands into it. The cooling water soothed her and she felt immediately a little rush of energy flow through her body. Zetsu gave the girl another moment to refresh. Then he turned and went on. He knew how much Pain hated it to wait. And the members did even less. Silently she followed him. The water had given her enough chackra to walk normally. In fact though the water had only paralyzed the pain which meant that actually it was still there. She would really have to watch out to not overdo it…

Some minutes later they arrived at a huge rock. Zetsu activated an invisible mechanism and a big gate opened. While being dragged by Zetsu, she noticed little windows which let in some light. 'Weird, you didn't see anything from the outside except a solid rock…' she thought. Finally they passed the last corner and stopped. A tall man with orange hair and many piercings awaited them. The dominance he embodied was almost touchable. Satsuki was more than sure that this had to be the Leader, Pain.


	3. First Impressions

„What took you so long?" A cold voice greeted impatiently. „I asked Zetsu to make a short break at the stream." She answered, looking into the Leader's eyes. 'He's got the Rin'negan!' For a few long seconds Pain stared at her before throwing a questioning glance at Zetsu. The plant simply nodded. Out of the blue Pain grabbed her arm and pulled of the cloak, revealing her right arm. Suddenly a burning sensation appeared. Wanting to stop the torturing fire inside her, she tried to break free of his grip- without success. After a little more than a minute, which seemed to last for ages, he let go of her. She stumbled to regain her balance. Taking a look at her right arm she saw a black seal and a little smoke coming out of it. "What was that for?" she asked, not able to suppress the sharp undertone. The seal had forced the gained chackra from the stream to dissolve. Brutally the pain came back. For a long moment she wasn't able to focus on the Leader's face, her legs threatening close to deteriorate. "This is only a precaution since you're not a full member yet." He turned to open a big door. Satsuki pulled herself together. Pushing the pain in the back of her brain, she carefully put one step after the other while putting her cloak back on. Zetsu followed.

Behind the doors lay a huge cave. It was almost gigantic. She determined 8 shapes, standing together, sitting on the ground or leaning against the wall. As the little group entered, the others turned to look at them. "Why the hell, did it take you so fucking long? So where's the new member? I've got the extreme urge to sacrifice!" The man had white, put-back hair and magenta-red eyes. Pain ignored him and the swearing that followed, reciting a whole encyclopedia of "bad words". "This is Satsuki. From today on, she'll be the new member."

Eight pairs of eyes scrutinized the girl attentive. "She'll be on our team!" a blond guy yelled. "And how could that bitch fight? I'm sure she didn't even have her first boyfriend and is still a virgin!" the man from before interrupted. Thanks to her memories of the Bingo-Book from Konoha, Satsuki was able to recognize most of the people in front of her: The man who kept swearing and bleating, had to be Hidan; a fanatic supporter of the Jashin-sect and immortal. The blond one was an expert for explosions and clay in general with the name Deidara. Another person resembled more a shark than an actually human. No doubt: Hoshigaki Kisame, a Nukenin from Kirigakure, using the Samehada and has a specialty for water based jutsus. Next to him: A man with black hair and red eyes. Uchiha Itachi, Nukenin from Konoha, killed his entire clan except his little brother, Sasuke, then joined Akatsuki. He's the Sharingan and is an expert in genjutsus, a dangerous opponent. Some feet next to Deidara a weird creature with a scorpion thorn stared at her. That was probably Sasori, Nukenin from Suna, a master puppeteer and an expert on poisons. On Hidan's right there stood another man where you could see the red eyes while everything else was covered by a cloth: Kakuzu, a well-known bounty-hunter and also immortal. Then a boy with an orange mask suddenly yelled: "Tobi is a good boy? Satsuki has a cookie for Tobi?" Considering his words, his name was Tobi, though Satsuki didn't know anything else about him. The only person left was a young woman with blue hair. Satsuki thought hardly. The woman's name was Konan. That was all she knew. The attempt to turn away from the pain stayed exactly what he was- an attempt. Unobtrusive she searched for water but couldn't find any.

Apparently Pain thought that she had seemed enough as an exposition specimen and said: „For now I won't put her in any of the teams. She'll assist the team with the hardest mission. Konan, bring her to her room." With that, the topic was done for the Leader and he turned to leave the room. "Hey! Why doesn't the bitch have to fight like everybody else? How should we know if she's actually worth it to be a member?" Hidan turned to look at Satsuki, his eyes fixed on the height of her breasts. "Or did you already pass a test in the Leader's bed?" He asked smirking perverted. Cold anger appeared in Pain's eyes as he turned back to Hidan. Before, however, he was able to say anything, she herself replied to the insult. "Suggest something. What do you want me to do to persuade you from Pain's decision?" Her voice was calm and the question serious. She would prefer to avoid causing trouble on the first day. She hated to be a burden to other people. Hidan looked at her triumphant and condescending. "A fight! Like everybody else, too!"


	4. The Unexpected Fight

She nodded, biting her lips involuntarily. Even though he was right… a fight was the last thing she needed right now. It seemed as if the other members hadn't noticed her injuries. "Did you lose your voice, or what? Didn't think you would actually have to fight, what?" Anger rose inside of her. "Come on! Fight!" "With you as my opponent? Anytime." She replied and swallowed her anger, knowing it wouldn't help her. She widened her mind to search one last time for water. Immediately the burning sensation expanded from her right arm over her whole body. With an effort she was able to push aside the dizziness. "Damn!" she whispered quietly so nobody could hear her. Well… nobody was supposed to hear her. A pair of red eyes remained on her, watching her closely. Hidan had already drawn his scythe and was bragging about the great victory he was going to achieve, even though nobody was listening to him. "That's enough, Hidan! There won't be a fight. Her abilities will be of use earlier than you may think." Pain said impatiently. But Hidan already didn't listen anymore and instead was attacking her. Satsuki was slow, too slow. The scythe appeared right in front of her. She yanked off her cloak and used it to change the curve of the scythe from her heart to her belly. It left a deep gash which started to bleed quickly. She held the scythe in position with her cloak and shot Pain a begging look. "No!" he said. Confused the other member turned to look at him. "What no?" Deidara asked extremely irritated. Sasori held him back to keep him from attacking Hidan. Pain's eyes were locked on hers and again he shook his head. She stumbled backwards as Hidan finally freed his scythe. Now everybody saw it: She was already injured. Her body showed clearly the signs of previous fights. Hidan seemed to be the only one who didn't notice the injuries. _Why didn't he allow her to use her Kekkai Genkai? How was she supposed to win this fight with her already weakened body? _She put aside those thoughts. There was no time to think, no time to whine. If she wanted to survive, she would have to come up with a good strategy.

However, fifteen minutes later it was obvious who would win. Satsuki lay on the ground soaked in blood while Hidan had begun his ritual. Pain watched coldly. Her eyesight threatened to fade from the loss of blood and energy. 'I don't want to die' a quiet voice got through to her ear. Again and again the voice repeated only this sentence. After the second time she recognized the voice from when she had been a little child. Now or never. She concentrated her chackra and using it for a weak Genjutsu. She projected pictures in front of Hidan's inner eye. Immediately he froze. She crept out of the triangle and got up slowly. Despite the seal, her eyes changed to a crystal-blue. Her hands were clenched to fists and her face showed how much she had to pull herself together. The Genjutsu didn't work for long but still long enough. Exactly in the moment Hidan escaped the Genjutsu, Satsuki finished the last knot. She had had to tie him up by hand since her chackra wouldn't have lasted for another jutsu. She stumbled back. Trying not to show her weakness she straightened up.

"Does everybody agree now?" Pain asked calmly. He hadn't been sure if it was a good idea to let the already injured Satsuki fight without the support of her Kekkai Genkai. Now he knew all the more how important she was. The other members nodded silently. Hidan lay swearing on the ground but nobody paid attention to him. They had all had their doubts about the young girl. The test had once again strengthened their trust in their Leader. Finally Deidara was able to break out of Sasori's tight grip and stomped angrily towards Hidan. "How could you attack her? She's a girl, and a hot one, too! Can't you just shut up for once! What will she think of us now!..." He continued for quite some time. Pain went to her and released her from the seal. "Now all the more you're a member that certainly deserved it." He said quietly with content in his voice. Then he turned to the others. "Deidara, Sasori, come to my office later. I've got a new mission for you. The others…" A rustling and the impact of her body interrupted him. The Akatsukis jerked. Satsuki's body lay in a puddle of blood. Zetsu lowered his head and the black half whispered: "Took her quite long." Pain pressed his teeth together and replied: "Guess, you're right." Itachi moved towards her and wanted to turn her on her back. A few inches before he could touch her, a blue barrier glowed. Quickly it spread over her whole body. It looked as if the light pulsed. Itachi's hand was recoiled. "Pain, you'll have to activate the seal or else we won't be able to touch her." He said calmly. Pain shot him a quick glance. Then he nodded, saying: "You'll come into my office later." "That's not necessary. When Kisame and I were on a mission, we accidentally interrupted her training with one of the Senseis." Itachi replied with a monotone voice. Pain summoned the seal and suppressed her Kekkai Genkai. This time though he felt the strong resistance. As soon as the seal had started to take effect, Itachi picked her up and carried her towards the big door. "Hey, where are you going with her?" Deidara asked arrogantly. "To treat her injuries." Without turning around, Itachi left the cave.


	5. Element

„_I don't want to die… I don't want to die… Why? Mother? Father? Why am I not allowed to live? Why am I so different? Why… Why do I have to die? I don't want to…_

„No!" Her lids fluttered and her body shot up. Carefully a hand pushed her back into the pillows. Her heart beat fast and unsteady. The scar hurt. Her vision sharpened and she saw a brown ceiling above her. Slowly she turned her head. Next to her bed sat Itachi and watched her. Sasori stood a bit further back in the corner and played with some fluids. "The little poison, she had injected, is neutralized." He took his things and left. As Pain entered, Itachi left, too, swiftly. "In two weeks your first mission starts. Until then you should have recovered. Konan will bring you your cloak." "Thank you." Her voice sounded scratchy and she had to quickly clear her throat. "Ah… How long was I … out?" She wasn't sure if she actually wanted to hear the answer. "Five days." Her mouth dropped a bit. Five days was quite a bit… Her hand wandered to her right arm. There was nothing left of the seal than a little scar. "We had to redo the seal to treat your wounds." Pain noticed shortly, seeing her movement. Then he shot a last glance at her and left as suddenly as he had come.

For a few more moments she stared at the door before she sighed quietly. She straightened up and was glad that the expected dizziness and nausea didn't hit her. Noticing that somebody must have changed her clothes she whispered: "Hopefully it was neither Deidara nor Hidan…" She got up slowly to get used to the slight dizziness that caught her. She went to the chair where she opened a well-known bag. It was her own. 'Zetsu must have taken some things from my wardrobe. I should thank him as soon as possible.' She pulled out the first thing she caught. It was her white dress. 'I won't be able to put on pants or a normal top with these bandages…' she thought slightly annoyed. It would be best if the wounds healed quickly. Suddenly an idea to speed up the healing process came to her mind. She put on the dress and smiled involuntarily, remembering how she had gotten to it.

She had suggested Ino to go shopping. She wouldn't have done something as suicidal as that usually. But Ino had been so down because Sasuke had left that Satsuki wanted to cheer her up a little. She herself had always gotten along very well with Sasuke but had never been in love with him. It only had taken Ino three sentences to agree to the shopping tour. They had picked up Sakura and Hinata on their way and had then begun their trip. They had been on their feet all day. For every piece of clothing Satsuki had a comment. She was always honest but never offending. Somebody had taught her once that words could be swords but also silk and ointment. At 6 o'clock everybody had found something except her. Ino had insisted that everyone should take something with them from that day. Suddenly they had seen this dress. Ignoring her protests, the three girls had put together their money and bought it for Satsuki.

She sneaked out of the room and took a quick glance around. Nobody seemed to be close so she began to look for an exit. Twenty minutes later she had finally found one. Relieved she breathed the fresh air. She was glad to not have met another member in the hallways. She wouldn't have known what to say. Kneeling on the ground, she put her hands on the soft grass. With closed eyes she followed the water lines to the nearest lake. Quickly she had found one. A big lake- about 15 minutes from the HQ. In a comfortable pace she walked through the forest. It was a typical idyll: The sun warmed her skin, a few birds sang their melodies and the soft ground was balsam for her feet. But she forgot about all that as soon as she reached the lake. She felt the need of her body to finally be able to dive into the cool water, to simply let go of all worries and to relax for some hours.

She smiled and strode towards the lake. A small shudder shook her body as her feet touched the water. When the water reached up to her breasts, the bandages came loose. Drifting on her back on the water surface she watched the few clouds. 'Since clouds consist of water I should be able to use them, too, to fight… I should try it sometime soon…" That being her last thought she sank into the blue water, completely giving in to her element. The water welcomed her with open arms, playing with her hair, healing her wounds. Her hair turned dark blue and reached her knees. Her eyelids fluttered and revealed light blue eyes with a hint of turquoise. With open eyes, motionless, with her hair as a circle around her head, she lay under water for almost an hour.

After all she slowly broke through the water surface and closed her eyes quickly at the contact with the air. She swam to the shore and lay down in the soft grass to dry. Her breath went slowly but the thoughts raced through her mind, while looking at her dark blue long hair. She had never fully given in to her element. She examined her wounds. Though not even a scar was left of them, she felt a little weakness inside of her, knowing instinctively that its disappearance was only a matter of time. But there was something else… a feeling, which had its origin in her heart… She could feel the water flowing through her body alongside with the blood and giving her energy. She got up and went back to the HQ, hoping that nobody would see her and ask any questions.

She had been lost in thoughts that she didn't notice the others until somebody cleared his throat quite clearly. Confused her head shot up, meeting the eyes of Sasori, Deidara, Konan, Pain and Itachi. The latter, leaning against the wall, scrutinized her with one of his unfathomable glances. "Where are your bandages?" Pain asked. As usual he came right to the point. A little embarrassed she lowered her head. "I don't need them anymore." Even in her voice she could hear the water. It made her voice sound like a flowing melody. "Very well, then you can go on your first mission in three days." the Leader said. Satsuki nodded in agreement. "She awoke of a 5-day coma only this morning, couldn't really move and yet you want to send her on a dangerous mission in only three days?" Deidara interrupted their conversation outraged. Quickly she waved at him. "That's ok. I feel quite fine again. The wounds healed, too." As proof she showed her arms which had been scratched all over from the fights. "Seems to me, she already had enough time to color her hair and use contacts." Sasori said to Deidara. Satsuki twitched. She had completely forgotten that her hair was still blue. " Then she looked at him questioning. "Contacts?" "This morning your eyes were golden. They aren't anymore now." Sasori answered. "Excuse me…" she mumbled and ran to her room. There, she looked stunned into the mirror, only to have light blue eyes with a bit turquoise starring back at her. 'I wonder how long it'll take for everything to return to normal…' She questioned herself in silence. She sat down on her bed and was lost in thoughts again.

The next two days went by fast and she quickly found friends in Sasori, Konan, Kisame and Kakuzu. She apologized to Hidan for the genjutsu. After he had overcome his surprise he threw a "Sorry, too" at her and since then they got along quite good. Though Tobi and Deidara were a little too loud for Satsuki's taste she got along with them, too. Her good relationship with Zetsu went on and sometimes they would go into the woods together, he showing her different plants. Konan though was her best friend. Since both preferred it to be a little quieter sometimes, they often sat together in the evening, reading or talking. But during those two days she remembered one night the most.


	6. The Mission Begins

Satsuki had decided to go outside since she hadn't been able to fall asleep anyway. The incident with water had left her restless, though she didn't show it. Lying down on a little hill she watched the stars. As she straightened up again, about an hour later, she noticed another silhouette sitting only five meters next to her. Leaning against a tree, she recognized Itachi. She knew of his past. Sasuke told her what had happened. That Itachi had killed all members of the Uchiha-Clan except for his own brother, disappeared and then joined Akatsuki. Looking at him now, she couldn't see that unscrupulous murderer. Instead she saw sadness. Something seemed to weigh heavily on his mind, not letting him rest. She got up and quietly sat down next to him. Both were silent. For a long time they sat there, silent, without touching, without looking at each other and still appreciating each other's presence. For the first time in two days she was able to let her thoughts flow freely. The water-incident was pushed aside and she found her inner balance. Finally he got up and went back to the hideout without a word. She noticed that he was the only person she hadn't talked to yet. But the silence between them didn't seem to be bad…

Although she had only been with Akatsuki for a week, from which she had been in a coma for five days, it seemed like a home to her. The feeling of belonging here was strong. The others treated her as if they had known her for a year and not only three days.

In the morning of the third day she went to Pain's office and knocked quietly on the door. "Come in." said a monotone voice from the inside. She opened the door a little, slipped through and closed it. "I think we should talk." he said, looking at her expectant. He leaned back in his chair, pushing aside the little paper tower on his desk. Confused she said: "Sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about." His eyes wandered to her hair and her body. Then she understood. "Ah… Well, there's actually not a lot I can tell you. I had the idea that water might accelerate my recovery due to the fact that it's my element. So I went to the lake and into the water. What happened then I can't really describe… It felt as if the water took possession of my body… And that's it. I don't understand it myself." Since he didn't make any attempts to interrupt her, she added: "I also wanted to say… You probably already know about it… I want to offer my healing powers to everyone. You don't have to tell them. In Konoha I was helping out in the hospital and…" "I know. That's the second reason why I called you here. You should be ready at all times. It's always possible that one of the members returns injured and then it'll be easier if you can heal them." She nodded. "I'll give my best." "Good." There was a long silence. Unconcerned Pain had returned to his paperwork. "Ah… I'm here because of the mission." Satsuki said uncertainly. "I know. Sit down. We're still waiting for Itachi and Kisame." he answered without looking up. "Oh… ok" She sat down on one of the three chairs. So her first mission would be accompanied by Itachi and Kisame. Since Kisame worked with the same element and Itachi was a pleasant person to be with, she was glad. Suddenly she remembered the night where Itachi and she had watched the stars together. A warm feeling appeared in her stomach and she smiled involuntarily.

About ten minutes later Kisame and Itachi entered without knocking. They seemed to have been in an important conversation because Kisame was talking like a waterfall. Though Itachi made the impression of being deaf. An annoyed look of Pain was enough to silence Kisame. As the tall blue man spotted her, he grinned. Without saying too much, Pain explained them what he wanted: "Close to Suna a Nukenin and his gang are disturbing our research. Get rid of them and look for the Seventh of the Secret Scrolls. It should be hidden somewhere in that area." Desert? Satsuki's motivation for the mission sank rapidly. Since her birth she had been in the desert only once and certainly not willingly. Thank Goodness it had only been for a week. That time Tsunade had sent her and Team 7 to help Gaara, who she liked quite a bit. But no matter how much she liked him… She was glad as the finally left the desert and returned to Konoha. "Do you think it's a good idea to send two Shinobi, whose jutsus are based on the element water, into the desert?" Itachi asked emotionlessly. Surprised Satsuki looked at him. "There's water even in the desert. You can stay close to Suna just in case. I can neither send Sasori nor Deidara. First of all both are occupied in the moment and their faces are well known. But Suna doesn't know you." "Of course…" she added a little quieter. "I already had a mission there. We were to help Gaara." "Even better. Then you'll be able to get some information" Pain replied. She nodded, ignoring the bad feeling coming up in her. The thought of betraying Gaara was not acceptable. But Pain was right: She was a member of Akatsuki. And if there should be a fight, she knew where she belonged. "Any questions? Then leave the office." His annoyed glance at Kisame made him turn around and drag Satsuki and Itachi with him outside. "I get the feeling that Pain is always on the edge." Satsuki smiled. She noticed a brief flare up in Itachi's eyes, who had watched her. But before she could take a closer look, it had disappeared and he said: "We'll meet up at 3am at the entrance." "Why do you want to travel during night?" Kisame asked confused. "It's the time where you attract the least attention." He said and turned, walking to his room. Kisame shrugged smiling. Then he, too, left.

Falling on her bed, Satsuki had a concerned expression on her face. She hoped everything would work out how it was supposed to… An unpleasant pressure came up in her abdomen and she sighed…

Once again her hand moved up to her hair to check. Now, that might sound a little weird, but it's not what you think it is. She wasn't checking on her hair worrying about its shape but because she had tried out something new. The evening before, Konan had given her a set of hairclips. With one quick handle those clips would turn into throwing needles, which had been dipped in poison. Knowing that it wouldn't be easy for Satsuki in the desert, Konan had simply decided to give her something useful.

Satsuki's eyes were fixed on Itachi's back who was running in front of her. She kept a connection to the water in the earth and the plants at all times. The connection gave her the possibility to warn the others in case of enemies tracing them. The silence that occurred was a pleasant one. It was only interrupted once. Satsuki warned Itachi and Kisame that a group of a dozen men camped about 3 km east of their current position. Itachi and Kisame exchanged a quick look. Then Kisame waved her to follow him while Itachi went east. Answering her questioning look, Kisame only meant: "When he's done with them, they won't be a problem for us anymore." Satsuki couldn't suppress her laughter. Though she didn't laugh about the death of those men, but about Kisame's mischievous grin. About half an hour later, Itachi reappeared next to her and behaved as if he hadn't been gone and killed a dozen men only a sec ago. They went on for the rest of the night and the following day, taking only two short (I mean really short… 2 minutes and back on the road again) breaks to fill up their water bottles.

In the evening of the second day they finally stopped to build up their tents and eat. They had arrived at the tree line. From the next morning on they would be travelling through nothing but desert. Satsuki's head was almost killing her and her heart was pounding as if it planned to break through her ribcage. She excused herself, saying that she was going to a natural bathroom, and dragged herself to the river nearby. She kneeled down at the bank and sank her hands into the water. Immediately her headache and her heart calmed down. Taking a mouthful, she decided to allow herself to take a quick bath. Carefully she put her clothes over a branch and walked into the water. The cold hit her like a punch in the stomach but quickly it changed into the pleasant feeling, coming up every time she touched her element. As fast as possible she plunged and felt her thoughts flowing just like the water around her, felt the familiar feeling as the water took over her body and her spirit merged with the cool element.

Way to early she forced herself to surface and to dress.

She stepped in the shine of the fire and wasn't extraordinarily surprised as neither Kisame nor Itachi looked up. They had probably felt her chackra already 5 minutes ago. Pulling out a little bag she began to cook a quick supper. The only communication which happened was the little nod as Satsuki gave them their bowl. Even concerning the guarding division no talk was needed. She put Kisame's silence down to the desert, just like her own. As the big shark man lay down, Itachi nodded in the direction of her sleeping arrangements. She shook her head as reply, meaning that she would take the first guard. Although she was exhausted she knew that trying to sleep now would be futile. The nearby desert made her restless. Instead of lying down Itachi leaned against a tree and closed his eyes. She felt a soft prickle in her belly. She had never seen him before with closed eyes and he really was handsome. Quickly she turned away. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the water in the ground. She created an alarm area around their little camp with a radius of 5 km. Should there be any creature moving, Satsuki would feel it. And since humans had a heavier impact than animals, it should be easy to sort out potential enemies. And then she guarded.


	7. Useful Abilities

Her eyes were burning; her head felt like a collection of exploding bombs and her whole body refused to take even one more step but still did it. Her mind was leading her body, not the other way around. Her eyes were completely fixated on Itachi's back, not noticing anything else anymore. It was afternoon… at least she believed that. Her sense of time probably was completely off. Suddenly Itachi's arm blocked her way. Confused she looked up. "We arrived." That was enough to wake her up again. She forced her body to accept the missing water and took a deep breath. They were standing in front of one of the many rocks with a cave entrance. She actually had to look twice though to spot the entrance. "You wait here." Itachi said. Again she threw a confused look at him. But this time at least she wasn't the only one. "Satsuki should wait outside while we two go in." Kisame corrected his partner. Satsuki wanted to object but both of them had already turned and walked to the gap. She swallowed down the comment. They were right. In case it was a trap, it wouldn't help them to be in there all three; although the chance of walking into one with Itachi as a partner was most likely to be very low. She looked for a close spot in the shadow where she could see over the whole plane. She tried to summon an alarm area but the water lines either were too weak or simply too low. After a few minutes she heard the first fighting sounds from inside. She got up and prepared to go in. But suddenly it was quiet. A dangerous silence. She left her guarding position and sneaked through the entrance. She stayed low and in the shadows as she turned around a corner to look at the battle. About 40 enemies lay motionless on the ground, most likely dead. In the middle stood a coarse man, ten men guarding him with their weapons ready. Kisame stood a little further away, Samehada in his hand. His breath was abnormal.

As she sent out her seven senses she noticed why: His left arm and his right leg were wounded. Blood was dripping on the already soaked ground. Her eyes wandered worried to Itachi, who was facing the leader. But the fact that nobody except her and Kisame was moving scared her. Clearly Itachi had cast a Genjutsu since he was staring blankly at the leader and his bodyguards. She walked over to Kisame. Quickly she waved at him to be quiet as he spotted her. She opened her water bottle and pulled out the water with her hand. It stuck to her hand as if it would belong there and nowhere else. She slowly ran her hand over his injured arm and leg. The wounds closed and she let the rest of the water flow back into her bottle again. Her body revolted. That was the only water left. The possibility of finding an oasis was pretty low, too. Kisame hugged her shortly. Then Satsuki nodded in Itachi's direction. "What's happening?" she whispered quietly. "There were more enemies than expected. Perhaps she should discuss the meaning of "a few" with Pain." They grinned. "We divided the enemies. It seems as if the leader is a very competent Genjutsu-user. Itachi and he have started fighting a while ago. But it'll probably take a lot more." They both watched Itachi. Satsuki disliked the ten bodyguards which seemed to have survived the first attacks. Determined she pulled the water out of the bottle once again and held it in front of her lips. "Time for a cool down." She whispered. Slightly she blew on the water and it immediately froze. She felt her chackra decreasing with every use. She concentrated again and divided the ice into long sharp needles. There were exactly ten. Kisame grinned understanding. She gave him five and pointed out how she wanted to do it. He nodded and they ran in opposite directions. Their feet almost made no sound. She threw the needles with full power. They flew like arrows and hit their target erringly, the carotid. The men fell with a quiet gargling to the ground. Finally Itachi had free sight on his enemy. But as expected, nobody moved. The battle of illusions was rampaging. She wished that she would be able to do something. But there was nothing more to do than watching and waiting. Kisame went from one dead man to the next, checking. Suddenly she heard something. She stared at Itachi. "_Amaterasu_" Goosebumps went down her spine as Satsuki saw the leader bursting into black flames and screaming. Kisame's head had shot up at the word. Itachi's knees buckled and he sank to the ground. She ran to him. Kneeling down beside him she noticed immediately that he had already lost consciousness. A few smaller injuries were scattered over his body. The cloak was completely wasted. Carefully but with experienced handles she took off the torn cloak and quickly examined the wounds. Nothing serious. The blue in her eyes glowed as she began to inspect his energy lines. In fact the only thing she could see were his thin chackra lines. Then suddenly two things caught her attention: She saw a black net which was entwining around his heart. She resisted the temptation to simply close her eyes and run away. She had already seen this disease once. Her granddad, who had been the only one to understand her, had died only one week after she had first noticed the disease. And it certainly hadn't been a good death. No simple falling asleep and not waking up again. It had been painful and terrible. The second thing attracting her attention was his eyes. She saw a flickering which wasn't supposed to be there. Quickly she pushed those two things in the background. His biggest problem in the moment was his loss of chackra. Desperately she searched for water in the surrounding area. But the result was all too clear. Kisame stood next to her. "There might be some intricacies." She said finally. "What do you mean?" Kisame asked. "He lost way too much chackra." She answered impatiently. "That was obvious after he used Amaterasu. Please do your best." He replied. Though he didn't say it she could see in his eyes that he understood. She turned to Itachi. He was lying there calmly on the cold ground, not for long anymore.

She fell into a state of trance. Her hands lay stiff on his chest. Her chackra became visible arond her and she felt how the little water from the surroundings rushed to her support. Light radiated of her body as her chackra concentrated into a ball in her abdomen. Slowly it went up. When it arrived in her mouth she held her hands in front of her lips. The chackra ball floated a few inches above her hands. It radiated the same blue warm light which she had a sec ago. Sweat appeared on her forehead because it was hard to control the high concentrated chackra. Her hands wandered back to Itachi's body. Slowly she stopped the ball over his chest. Then she began pushing the chackra steadily into Itachi's chest. That was when his agony started. His mouth opened and he cried out shortly but pained. Her body flinched at the sound. She simply couldn't get used to the idea of hurting the people she was trying to heal. Finally the chackra was completely in his body. He squirmed a few more times before he lay still. Her eyes stared into nothing while his slowly opened. She heard Kisame saying something without understanding what it was. The blankness in her inner changed into cold darkness.


	8. Shared Past

The eyes of the girl rolled back and closed. Her upper body sank motionless on Itachi's, whose eyes had just opened. He still felt a little weak but before he would ever admit that he would rather die. He noticed something different in his body. There was something… something that was warm and gave him strength. Kisame had wanted to catch Satsuki but his hands had only caught air. She had collapsed over Itachi. Carefully he lifted her and put her next to him. Kisame helped him. They both scanned the cave quickly. The black flames of _Amaterasu _were licking on the leader's body. "We should leave." Itachi said. Gently he lifted up Satsuki into his arms. Her skin was pale and cold. Silently, as they had appeared, they left.

„What now?" Kisame asked a little uncertain. "We can't just leave her here, unconscious. But it's not worth bringing her back to the hideout either. That would take us at least three days and we would have to listen to Pain's annoying comments." Kisame added. "She'll probably wake up soon. We will stay the night and wait." Itachi answered calmly. He was certain that Satsuki would wake up this night. "You'll be first guard." He said to Kisame before leaning back and closing his eyes.

As his eyelids lifted Kisame had been about to wake him up. „Is she conscious?" Kisame shook his head. "I think she's a slight fever. Her body is simply not used to not be close to water. It's hard enough to get used to these friggin' cold nights…" he said pissed. He hated the desert. On the other hand, what else would you expect from a shark man? He lay down and was a minute later sound asleep. Itachi shifted closer to Satsuki and put his hand on her forehead. She did have a slight fever. Her body shivered under her blanket. He checked on the fire. Then intending to use it as a second blanket, he took off his cloak and spread it over her. Immediately she calmed down. His eyes wandered over her body and her long blue hair. Thinking of her light blue eyes he mumbled: "You've changed since our first meeting. Back then… when you were a little girl."

~~Flashback~~

„It's wonderful to see you again!" Satsuki's mother warbled. "How long has it been?" Mikoto asked smiling. Her voice was calm and pleasant to listen to. "Too long." Satsuki's father answered. The little girl bit her lip. She hated her parents when they did that; this display of false feelings. She glanced shyly at Mikoto. That was the mother the little girls wished for. A mother like that would understand her abilities, Satsuki thought. She had discovered her Kekkai Genkai about 3 months ago. Although she was only 5 years old, she was already Genin and displayed a perfect behavior. But she couldn't get herself to tell her parents about the Kekkai Genkai. They already pushed her to her limits every day. If they found out about her hidden strength, she probably wouldn't be allowed to sleep anymore. Her father's voice tore her out of her thoughts. "Have you already heard of our little Genin?" he asked, pretending to be proud. She knew he was only pretending. Wanting perfect results, he expected her to become Chuunin in 2 years and Jonin the year after. He put a hand on her back and pushed her in front. Two sons stood between their mother and father. One of them was at least 3 years older than her and his attitude and eyes told her that he was at least Chuunin if not already Jonin. The smaller one pressed himself a little against his big brother and had his eyes fixed on the girl's parents. "How old are you?" Mikoto leaned down a little and smiled friendly. "My name is Satsuki and I am 5 years and 7 months old." I answered. A sincere smile appeared on the girl's face. "Had she only trained a little harder, she would have been Chuunin by now, right?" her father added jokingly. Only Satsuki knew it had been no joke. "She's such a beautiful girl and so well behaved that it's not important at all which rank she has." Mikoto stated. "Come on in, or the tea is going to get cold." Satsuki and her parents followed the Uchihas into the mansion.

"Itachi, Sasuke, you don't have to stay here. How about you take Satsuki with you and go outside or to your rooms, if you want to". "Ok, Mum:" Sasuke said glad to finally be allowed to leave. Itachi nodded and got up as well. Satsuki followed the two brothers outside. After a long silence Satsuki asked a little shyly: "Could one of you teach me that Shuriken technique?" She didn't really know what to say. Itachi looked at her and she saw slight surprise crossing his face. "Never mind…" she said quickly. Sasuke saved her from the embarrassing situation. "Yeah, Itachi you wanted to train with me anyway, right? We could do it all together!" A beautiful smile and great enthusiasm lighted up Satsuki's face. "That'd be great!" "If you insist." Itachi agreed, sounding amused. They walked to a clearance, the two little ones talking rapidly. They trained the whole afternoon and were still on it when it got dark. Laughing Satsuki had jumped at Itachi to tickle him as her parents suddenly appeared. Her father tore at her arm and brutally lifted her up. "You've no time to play! How often do I have to tell you again? You're already behind! We're leaving and you'll stay as long in your room as it takes you to fully master the Shuriken-Jutsu!" She threw a glance at Sasuke and Itachi. "I'm sorry… But today was the best day of my entire life! See you." She said before her father dragged her with. The last thing the two brothers saw was her beautiful smile, which seemed to light up everything around her.

~~Reality~~

The girl's eyelids flattered. Finally she opened her eyes and immediately checked her surroundings. Sitting up, she noticed the cloak. She hesitated a moment before cuddling back into it. It was so warm. "Finally awake?" a voice sounded from the right. Itachi's eyes lay calmly on her. Without blinking she looked into those onyx black eyes. Smiling she answered: "Sorry to trouble you." "You did not." Kisame said yawning widely. "I mean you saved Itachi's life." Kisame turned to look at Itachi: "Hurry, let's start searching. The faster we're out of this damn desert the better, right Satsuki?" She nodded, discreetly checking if she was able to stand. With a more or less elegant movement she got up and gave Itachi his cloak. "Thanks" she whispered as she hugged him slightly. Kisame grinned and left the cave. The other two followed.


	9. Examination

"Mission accomplished." Satsuki said as she put the script smiling on Pain's desk. Pain looked up, his face displaying the stress of his work. "Any complications?" Before Kisame could start complaining, Satsuki answered: "We've taken care of everything, do not worry." Pain nodded. Satsuki took Kisame's and Itachi's hand and dragged them out as quiet as possible. "Sometimes I really feel sorry for him." She mumbled. Kisame threw her a shocked glance. "Are you kiddin' me? You can spare pity for Mr. Big Boss?" She grinned. "I'd love to see you sitting behind that desk with work piling up to the ceiling." Kisame made a face to a pained grimace. He left with the comment that he first of all needed a long bath now. "Let me check on your wounds. I'm not sure if I treated all back then in the cave." Itachi shook his head. "I'm fine." She smiled and winked. "Then there's nothing to fear." He sighed even though she could see a tiny little smile. Satsuki followed him to his room. As he took of his cloak she blushed slightly. Itachi sat down on his bed and looked at her, waiting. She concentrated and her hands began to follow the energy strings which were a little weaker than the others. When she touched the black net around his heart she flinched. Gritting her teeth she strengthened her concentration. There had to be a way to treat the disease. Her hands pressed carefully on certain spots to test the effect on the tight net. Being completely absorbed by her examination she forgot the time. Only as Itachi discreetly cleared his throat she noticed that she had been examining his chest for about 10 minutes. She blushed. "Sorry, I spaced out. Could you lie down on your back, please?" He fell backwards onto his bed. Her hand hovered over his forehead, looking for mental damages. Again something attracted her attention. She focused on his eyes and flinched frightened. She was confronted with the Mangekyo Sharingan. Her surroundings disappeared and suddenly she was in complete darkness. Only those eyes were still starring at her. Her sudden fear made her shiver as she noticed her parents with knives in their hands standing in front of her. They yelled at her but there was no sound. Satsuki didn't need to hear, she knew what they were saying. She remembered. Then her parents ran towards her, beginning to stab at her. She whimpered as the pain hit her hard. 'Not again…' it ran through her mind. 'Please… everything except that!' She screamed as the knife bit through her chest. Her eyes turned white. When the white haze disappeared she experienced the same spectacle again.

The eyes of the girl became empty. Every color disappeared from her face and her hands began to shiver. Immediately Itachi noticed that something couldn't be right. He moved her hand away from his eyes and shook her slightly then stronger, grabbing her shoulders. He cursed loudly, lifted her into his arms and ran to Pain's office. For the first time he noticed how light she was. She did look delicate but her weight must be under normal values. He kicked open the door without knocking. "Pain, there's a problem." Pain looked up immediately. He cursed as he saw Satsuki's motionless body. "What happened?" "I don't know. She checked my wounds to be certain that everything's fine. When she reached my eyes it started." Konan arrived in the office closely followed by Kisame and Tobi. "What happened to her?" Kisame shouted before even entering the room. Tobi crowded next to Itachi and inspected Satsuki. "She's under the influence of the Mangekyo Sharingan." He said with his calm, adult voice. Itachi glanced at him suspiciously. "Why should she?" "You said she was examining your eyes, which includes your Sharingan as well. We should free her from this state as quickly as possible or she'll never be able to heal anyone else ever again!" Tobi added. Before Kisame could start yelling that nobody knew how to wake her up, Pain put his hand on her forehead. Her eyes opened for a mere second and her body shot up. Then, with a quiet thud she fell back into Itachi's arms. Her eyes had closed and her body slowly relaxed. Everyone breathed out relieved. This girl… "I'll bring her to her room." Itachi said, lowering his head. Tobi and Konan left silently after him. Kisame's eyes were fixed on the door. "He feels guilty for the incident." Pain interrupted the silence. Kisame grinned, showing his sharp teeth. "Yeah… already now she's more important to him than he actually wants." "Watch him closely. Force him to get healed if necessary." Pain turned back to his paperwork. "Aye, aye Big Boss!" Quickly Kisame escaped with a grin on his face before Pain would come up with the energy to kill him.

Carefully Itachi lay Satsuki down on her bed und pulled up her blanket. "This should not have happened…" he whispered quietly. Gently he ran with his hand over her forehead down to her cheek. Then he got up and left.

Two days passed and Satsuki stayed unconscious. Members kept coming and visiting her. The only one not appearing even once was Itachi. "Shouldn't you be the one watching over her?"Deidara asked him mischievous. "Yeah, seriously! Only because you're such a damn idiot and can't control your stupid eyes she's lying there!" Hidan complained loudly. Itachi threw him an ice cold glance before leaving with no intention of returning that night.


	10. Mission in Konoha

In the middle of the night Satsuki opened her eyes. 'What had happened?'Then she remembered all at once. She jumped up when sudden sharp pain hit her head. Panting she pressed her hands against her head. "You should keep it slow, little one…" Kisame's voice sounded in the room. She sat back down on her bed. "How long was I out?" she asked quietly. Kisame shrugged. "Only two days. As soon as you can move normally, you should go and talk to Itachi. He hasn't been his normal cheerful self." Satsuki threw him a questioning glance. Kisame grinned. "He thinks it's his fault." She put her hands up. "Bullshit! I knew exactly which risks I was taking when examining him. Where is he?" Nodding towards the window Kisame got up and left the room. She quickly threw her cloak around her shoulders and used the window as an official exit.

She didn't have to search for a long time. She knew him well enough that in a clear night, he would be at the cliffs. He would be sitting there with eyes so sad; it made her heart ache every time. She hated herself for not knowing how to help him.

There he was, sitting all alone, watching the moon with sad eyes. Hesitantly she stopped. What was she supposed to say? Should she sit down or stay standing? After a moment she simply followed her instincts. She sat down next to him and began looking at the stars. For a while no one said a word. Then, Satsuki leaned towards him and put her head on his shoulder. Surprised he turned his head. He didn't expect this kind of reaction from her. "Why did you really kill your clan? Certainly not because you wanted to test your abilities and your strength. Was it a mission? From who? The Hokage himself? To avoid the Coup d'état the Uchiha Clan had planned?" He flinched. She lifted her head and looked at him. "So it's true… That's where the sadness in your eyes comes from… What's Sasuke's role in that scheme?" Itachi avoided her eyes. She already knew too much anyway… So,… why couldn't he just tell her about it? Though she felt how important it might be for Itachi to talk to somebody about it, she didn't want to push him. It should be his decision. But she wanted to be the person he trusted most. She wanted to help him… to understand the sadness in his eyes and to chase away. No matter how egoistic that would be of her… But it was his decision when and how to tell her. "I'm sorry…" she whispered. A smile appeared on her face as she stroke the back on his hand before getting up. "Wait." The sound of his voice made her stop immediately. And he began to talk. About the mission, his clan, Sasuke, his disease, the Mangekyo Sharingan and the following blindness… Automatically she sat back down next to him. It only took a few moments until the emotions warmed up his usually motionless face. His face mirrored his sadness more and more naturally. Only when he talked about Sasuke his eyes would light up and show warmth and a deep love. Satsuki took his hand while listening and didn't let go a single time.

As he finished, he turned away. Hesitantly she put her hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at her again. Tears were running down her face. "Thank you…" she whispered before placing a light kiss on his forehead, which only seemed to deepen Itachi's confusion. Then she got up, leaving without looking back.

„Information about Bijus?" Pain nodded. "We know about the whereabouts of the Nine-Tailed, but he's not ready yet to fully control the powers of Kyuubi yet. So he's of no use to us right now. I simply want you to keep ears and eyes open for any new info about the others." Satsuki nodded. "No problem. Will Zetsu come, too, or would I better go alone?" Pain threw a stressed glance out the window. "I sent Zetsu to Kusagakure. One person catches less attention than two. Besides, Konoha is familiar to you but you're not familiar there anymore. You have changed since you've arrived here. It's only been two weeks, but anyway." He grinned. Satsuki smiled warmly before leaving the room. Not even half an hour later, she was on her way towards Konoha. The mission was perfect. Nobody would know if she studied some Healing Jutsus while looking for information on the Bijus. She had left her Akatsuki cloak in HQ since it would only stand out. Instead she was wearing a dark blue top and a pair of white shorts. The small heels of her sandals almost made no sound when touching the ground. Finally she stood before the gates of Konoha. Without delay she approached the library. Thanks to her changed hair and eyes, she didn't even have to lower her head since nobody would recognize her anyway. Quickly she asked the librarian about the department for Healing Jutsus. A short time later her eyes flew over the backs of loads of books. Quickly she had selected the most important ones and sat down in a corner. After four hours she closed the last one. She leaned her head against the window and let her look wander over the busy street life. The disease which had befallen Itachi's heart had only been discovered last year, long after her grandpa's death. There was no chance of recovery. There was no chance of relieving the pain. But there HAD to be some sort of hope! There is no disease which cannot be cured! She thought of the black net which imprisoned the victim's heart. Disappointed she shook her head. Neither did she find a solution for that nor anything important about special Healing Jutsus for the eyes. She got up, brought her books back and left the library in deep thoughts. She wanted to yell out her worries about Itachi. Suddenly she ran into somebody. The impact sent her and the other person on the ground. "I'm really sorry. I didn't pay… Shikamaru!" Her eyes widened as she recognized the person opposite. Annoyed as usual, he got up and frowned. "Do I know you?" She remembered her changed look and quickly shook her head. "No, no, but I've heard of you. That look of you, tells me that it's really you." She smiled. "Ah… sorry, that I didn't pay attention." He replied uninterested. Before he could turn and leave, she grabbed his arm. "Ah, sorry, but could you help me out for a sec?" she asked. It was almost funny to see how hard he tried to suppress the eye rolling. "What is it about?" "Ok… Imagine there's a very important object caught in a black net. You can neither tear it out, nor damage it nor simply leave it in there. How do you free it?" Of course, she knew about Shikamaru's extraordinaire intelligence. Since she didn't plan on attacking or even destroying Konoha, she had no feelings of guilt or betrayal. Anyway she would not want to return to Konoha. Her life had been much stressed and people had always been suspicious of her abilities and kept their distance. There had been people with who she had gotten along very well: Shikamaru, Kakashi, Neji, Hinata and sometimes even Kiba. Gaara and Baki from Suna had quickly been defined as good friends, too. Gaara, however, had always had a special place in her heart because she felt like truly understanding him. Their mutual understanding of each other had forged a deep bond between them. And there had been Sasuke. Both of them had grown up without parents, both knew the pain of losing their beloved ones. Sasuke had become her brother, and she had become his sister. Only him and two more persons she had told her past.

Shikamaru looked confused but began to think anyway. "You could try to cut the net without damaging the object. Another possibility would be to find the origin of the string. In case of a spider net it would be the spider…" He was interrupted by Kiba who approached them on Akamaru, yelling: "Hey Shikamaru, we've gathered new information about Satsuki! She really was kidnapped by Akatsuki! Come on, Tsunade thinks about sending a group to the hideout!" He stopped next to Shikamaru, who rubbed his ears, and noticed Satsuki. "Who's that? Is she someone new?" Involuntarily Satsuki had to smile. Politeness had never been one of Kiba's strengths. Suddenly she understood the sense of the words Kiba had just yelled. Konoha was looking for her? They wanted to attack Akatsuki?She had to prevent that somehow. For the sake of all the friends she still had in Konoha she couldn't allow them to die in a pointless and hopeless battle! In the same moment Shikamaru's words made sense to her. She knew how to treat the disease. Passionately she hugged Shikamaru. "Thank you so much! You just saved somebody's life." She placed a light kiss on his forehead and ran forward. Before turning around the corner she turned back, facing the two completely confused boys and said: "Oh right, I heard that the girl you talked about earlier is not alive anymore. It seems she didn't pass the trial." She turned back and rushed around the corner. She closed her eyes for a sec as sadness pierced her heart. She had to prevent under any circumstances and under any costs that Konoha and Akatsuki met on a battlefield with her in the middle. The next three days she searched for information about the Bijus without questioning the people directly. Not wanting to take any chances, she hid discreetly as soon as her friends appeared somewhere nearby. Although she couldn't wait to return to the HQ, she concentrated on the mission to not put any more strain on Pain.


	11. Accident

Finally, after a 4-days-stay in Konoha and a travelling time of almost 4 days, she reached the HQ. She avoided Hidan and Kakuzu and even Tobi. She knocked at Pain's door and entered quietly. She put her report containing the information on the desk and tried to leave as discreetly as possible. "Any complications?" She stopped and smiled. "None" She didn't expect any other questions and left quickly. In the hallway she saw Konan heading her direction. The two girls hugged each other. "Everything ok?" "Yes, it was no problem. Do you know where I can find Itachi?" Konan grinned knowingly. "I think he's somewhere outside." "Thanks." Satsuki said before moving towards the exit.

Without noticing the idyll around her, she walked through the woods. Soon she reached a clearance with a little lake. The water confirmed her thoughts: Itachi was swimming. She sat down at the shore and waited. How could she ask him? Would he allow it? Would he prefer to die than go blind? How could she persuade him that he was important? That she didn't want him to die? "Comfortable?" The question surprised her enough to make her fall over backwards. A small laugh left Itachi's lips. Satsuki blushed at the sight of Itachi's bare chest, but his laugh infected her. In the end they sat next to each other, looking at the water. "Itachi… can I ask you something?" she began quietly. He nodded. "Your disease… How much do you know about it?" His eyes widened for a mere moment. Then his face darkened. "I do not know what you're talking about." He replied coldly. He got up rapidly and put his shirt back on. Quickly she got up and grabbed his arm. "Wait… Please, I understand that you don't like talking about it. But I found a healing technique that might cure you! You would be able to live like everyone else again! And there'll be a solution to your blindness, too! Please, let me try. I'm the one responsible for your health. I'll examine your body again and start the preparations right away! You've got nothing to lose but everything to gain! Please, let me try it." Her voice was desperate and tears had appeared in her eyes. Uncertain and confused Itachi looked at her. "Why would you go so far? Akatsuki kidnapped you and forced you to join. You've suffered grave injuries from the trial. And still you're not trying to betray us, instead you're concerned about our health." "You all are important to me because Akatsuki gave me for the first time since long ago the feeling of being wanted. After the trial everybody accepted me without asking any questions. Nobody was interested what I had been, what I had done before. It only counted that I was there now. I knew for sure that you remember the past. You remember the first time we saw each other. Back then with my parents. Already then you had that expression in your eyes, as if you knew that something awful would happen soon. I might ask you as well: Why did you do it? Why did you take all the blame without protesting against it? Why did you watch passively as Konoha stirred up the hatred of your brother against you? Why don't you react? Why do you not want to understand that he needs you? There's no replacement for a brother! He…" "Well, that definitely seemed different to me. I think you did very well! He didn't even let you out of sight anymore. You two seemed to stick together. I didn't notice his need of me…" She interrupted him: "Well, you've been gone during the most critical time! After he had lost everything, everyone he loved, there was nobody. Nobody to comfort him, to love him! How could he miss you when your parents were killed in front of his eyes by your hands?" Itachi pulled his arm out of her small hand. "You have no clue how it feels to have to kill your own parents, your own relatives and friends. Don't talk about things you don't understand." Satsuki had never seen him so furious but he had said those last sentences with such ice in his voice that she had the feeling of suffocating. He turned around but she couldn't give up. "Then explain it to me" She begged. "Help me to understand so that I'll be able to save you." Again she put her hand lightly on his arm. "It's enough!" Itachi turned quickly and hit her with the back of her hand across the face. Satsuki was hurled backwards and crashed hard into a tree. Unconsciously she sank down to the ground. Itachi shrinked from the sound and couldn't understand what he had just done. He took a step towards her, stopped and shook his head stunned. How could he have lost his control so quickly? How could he have let himself be lead to a reaction like that? He turned around and began to run; to run wherever his legs would lead him.

"Pain, I can't sense Satsuki's chackra anymore." Uncertain the Leader looked up from his work. "What do you mean, Kisame?" Restless Kisame's eyes wandered through the office. "Well, normally we feel each other's chackra because we're linked by the same element, water. Her chackra was uneasy and from all the strong emotions in a mess. But suddenly it all disappeared. And if a chackra simply disappears…" "…then there are only three possibilities: Either she's dead, or somebody suppresses her chackra or she's unconscious." Pain finished his sentence and even his face displayed slight concern. "This noon she returned from her mission and seemed completely fine." "She doesn't seem to be in the hideout either. I asked the others but nobody has seen her for days." "She asked for Itachi after she returned." Konan entered the conversation. "I told her, he would probably be outside somewhere." Kisame stopped his restless pacing. "That would explain the confused emotions but not the disappearing…" he mumbled. "Even if they had been attacked, Itachi and Satsuki together are close to invincible." Pain meant. "I'll search the surroundings for her." Kisame added determined and turned to leave. "Wait, take Hidan and Kakuzu with you. If you really encounter a fight, they'll be useful, and Hidan has been begging for blood for the last two days. And both of them like Satsuki quiet a lot, too." Kisame nodded shortly and left the room. "How did you find out about it?" Konan asked, listening to Kisame's disappearing steps. "I would say it's hard not to see how Itachi looks at her. He sees her as the most precious thing in the world. The challenge lies within both though… Neither Itachi nor Satsuki experienced parental love in their childhood and have a hard time showing their true feelings. I can only hope that none of the two did something stupid…" Pain answered. Konans eyes softened. It had been a long time since she last heard him talk so much. It was in the moments like this where she noticed how less Nagato had changed. He still mourned for Yahiko but took care of the members nonetheless. 'Though he did prefer some more than others…' Konan thought smiling, as situations with Pain and Hidan or with Satsuki appeared in her mind. Suddenly loud cursing sounded through the HQ. "I guess Hidan just heard of her disappearing…" Konan said grinning. Nobody really understood the miracle effect Satsuki had on Kakuzu and Hidan. Usually every member in the team of the two undead had to worry about his life. Either he would be tortured to death during a ritual or simply killed for his bounty. Satsuki, however, could trust them both to fight until their 'deaths' to save her.

"FUCK! How does this friggin' icy asshole dare to attack Satsuki! If I find that guy, I'll slowly cut him into pieces and offer his soul to Jashin to torture even in death!" Hidan had been going on like this for close to 10 minutes now. Without any participation of Kisame or Kakuzu Hidan grumbled about everything and threw a deadly glance at any animal they encountered. "There's the lake Satsuki usually sits at." Kisame said as they finally reached the water. Kisame knew that Itachi, too, had been quiet often here lately, and it had been easy to see who he was thinking about. "Hidan, shut up! If Satsuki is conscious, she might be able to say something." Kakuzu hissed with a deadly glance at Hidan, who was not at all intimidated. "Yeah, yeah, alright old fart…" "I'll look into the lake perhaps she's refreshing her energy." Kisame meant quietly before jumping into the water. "I'll search this side, Hidan. You do the other one." Grumpy Hidan agreed and walked to the other side of the lake.


	12. Incident after Incident

About half an hour later a loud roaring sounded through the woods. "Fuck this shit! Kakuzu, Sushi, I found her!" Within a heartbeat Kakuzu appeared next to him and two seconds later Kisame walked out of the lake. "Where is she?" he asked worried. "When I get my hands on this fucking bastard, I'll see to his getting cut off!" Hidan cursed seriously angered. Satsuki lay in his arms, as already expected unconscious. But what frightened Kisame and Kakuzu even more was the fact that her state seemed to have its origin in a punch at her face and the following impact with the tree. A person with cruel intent would have killed her. But she only seemed to be hit. Where was Itachi? Uneasy Kisame looked around until Kakuzu said: "He ran in that direction. Must have been in a big hurry to get away, leaving tracks like those ones." Kisame's look followed Kakuzu's finger as he began to run. Before disappearing into the woods, he yelled: "Hidan, bring Satsuki back to HQ and let Konan take a look at her. Kakuzu, tell Pain we found her." Although neither Hidan nor Kakuzu liked to be ordered around, they agreed; though Hidan really had to hold back his complaints. But with Satsuki in his arms, he knew, it would be hard to fight.

Abruptly Kisame stopped. In front of him, Itachi sat at the cliffs letting his legs hang freely over the black abyss. "Hey…" he said casually. His expectation of not getting an answer became true. "You know…" he continued "sometimes I think it would be easier if we all were a little more like Tobi… It doesn't seem hard for him to show his feelings." Again silence was the only answer he received. "You do not need to worry by the way; Satsuki is completely fine. And you know that she'll not hold you guilty for what happened. That's just the way she is, our little…" "She won't blame me for it, but I know it's my fault! There's only one guilty in case of a punch! My feelings have not given her anything except pain! And believe me I'm not talking about the hit! Her knowing of my disease, tortures her inside. She would never admit it but I can clearly see it displayed in her eyes. Do not try to talk me out of this!" Never before had Kisame seen his partner as furious and in a mess like now. Never had Itachi talked so much in such a loud manner. Never had Itachi threw such an angry glance at him. Kisame, however, stayed calm. "And what do you want to do? Sit here forever? Throw yourself into the abyss? Run away?" Itachi's Sharingan eyes got a threatening expression. "Just leave me alone or else I won't be able to hold back anymore, Kisame." "There's no sense in threatening Kisame, Itachi, you should know better." A voice sounded behind them. Uchiha Madara left the shadows of the trees, his Tobi mask in his hands. "Kisame, leave us." Protest on the lips Kisame turned, only to swallow it as he saw Madara's expression. Hesitantly he nodded and quickly left the clearance.

"So?" Madara looked at him questioning. Itachi snorted contemptuous and turned to enjoy the view. After a few minutes of a continuous silence, Madara said sighing: "Listen, the more you try to keep distance to her, the more you'll torture her, as you mentioned nicely earlier. If you want or not, your destinies had been connected long ago; most likely from the first moment you two first met. So if you want her to be well and happy, stop behaving like an idiot and accept your feelings." He paused shortly, watching contently Itachi's facial expression. "And she's right about the disease; you've nothing to lose but everything to gain." He added. "Itachi!" Satsuki's voice echoed through the woods. Confused Itachi got up and turned around. Satsuki ran towards him. She hugged him passionately (he didn't know where to put his hands out of surprise) and whispered close to his ear: "I'm sorry I forgot to tell you something very important before… I… I love you…" His heart skipped a beat and instinctively he wrapped his arms around her. Warm tears dropped on his shoulder and he listened to her quiet sobbing voice: "I'm so sorry, but I can't leave you no matter if I'm allowed to treat your disease or not…" "It's ok… Stop crying, everything's fine…" He paused then added quieter: "I love you, too… I have always loved you since the first time you left us with that gorgeous smile…" She wasn't sure if it was the joy or the shock, but it took a while till her tears would finally stop. Itachi calmingly stroke her back, playing with her hair. Finally the let go of each other. "Itachi, don't you forget something?" Madara asked with a huge grin in his face. Confused Satsuki eyes wandered between the two Uchiha. Itachi nodded hesitantly. "You can examine the disease." A relieved smile appeared on Satsuki's face.

"Ready?" she asked the others. Itachi lay bare-chested on the bed and stared with seemingly emotionless eyes at the ceiling. Satsuki, however, could clearly see the nervousness in his eyes. Pain, Konan and Madara nodded. "Ok, let's begin."It took a long time until she understood the complexity of the net around Itachi's heart. Cold sweat appeared on her forehead but froze immeadiately because of the radiating chackra. Suddenly her head shot up, her blue-turquoise eyes fixated on Madara. "I'll need your help. My chackra won't last long enough." Nodding he stepped behind her and put his hands on her back. Immediately her face relaxed a little as she felt new energy flowing through her body.

A few hours later she finally lowered her hands. Madara stepped back as well, looking at her expectant. No matter how powerful he was, he never fully understood Healing Jutsus and especially not the complicated ones like that. Satsuki turned and smiled at the others. "He'll have to rest for the next few days but then his body will have fully recovered and be able to accomplish even more than before." She summarized neutrally, still caught in her doctor-role. Relieved the others nodded and Kisame's loud rejoicing sounded from outside the room. Satsuki grinned. Then she looked at Pain, Konan and Madara. "He'll need rest and calmness. I'll stay here and take care of him. You do not need to worry." As soon as the others had left, not before hugging her once, she sank wearily on the bed, falling asleep in a matter of seconds.

Sunshine, warmth and a nice feeling of safety woke her up. Though she was certain of having falling asleep with only her head on the bed, she now lay pressed against Itachi's body under the blanket. Her attempts to get up were stopped by his arms which kept pulling her back against his bare chest. In the end she gave up and simply enjoyed the moment, if only for a little longer.

Four days later Itachi was officially discharged of his resting time. He had already been walking around on his first day but Satsuki had forbidden him to leave the room or the hideout. Most members were happy that the two of them finally found each other. All except Hidan… He kept complaining until Satsuki yelled at him for close to two hours; although he defended himself at the beginning he was pretty quiet at the end. The only thing which kept her restless and uneasy was Itachi's blindness. She knew his sensible reaction to that topic so she kept pushing it aside. The next few weeks went by calmly.

For a few days now, Itachi had been restless and had kept his distance to her. Then one morning, Kisame and he disappeared without trace. "Where are they?" Satsuki asked the Leader. "He's on a mission." "Where to?" "In the direction of Kirigakure." She sighed. "He made you swear to not tell me anything, right?" Surrendering, Pain nodded and looked at her apologizing. Satsuki, however, waved. "It's ok, but do not try to keep me from going!" Instead of answering in any way, Leader turned back to his paperwork and Satsuki quickly left the room.

The track was simple to follow for someone who knew the signs. She sent a thanking prayer to Kisame.

Three days later she had caught up with her favorite shark. "Hi Kisa" she hugged him. His brief and silent reaction confused her. And then she noticed something was missing. "Where's Itachi?" "Gone" "Where to?" She hated to get to know everything so slowly. "To fulfill the promise he gave." She suddenly had an alarming presentiment. "Gave who?" she asked and her voice faltered. Kisame avoided her look. "Sasuke." Briefly he pointed in the direction, Itachi had disappeared to. Before she ran towards the direction, she noticed a group of three people. A red-haired girl with glasses, a tall guy with orange hair on whose shoulders sat two birds and a white-haired smaller boy who played grinning with Zabuza's sword. "Kisame-senpai… long times no see!" "Leave, Satsuki." Kisame whispered. She saw the anticipation of the fight in his eyes and quickly disappeared into Itachi's direction.


	13. The Last Treatment

There they stood. While Sasuke used his Fireball-Jutsu from the left sight Itachi fought him with Amaterasu. "Please… stop fighting…" Satsuki whispered. Though she kept repeating those words louder and louder neither of the two paid attention to her. Desperation crept in her heart and voice. She lost control over her chackra and a huge jet of water, coming from the rain clouds above, separated the two fighting. "Satsuki? What are you doing here?" Itachi asked confused, not looking really happy. "Satsuki…" Sasuke's voice sounded a little cooler even though surprise was displayed on his face as well. Instead of saying anything her eyes looked deep into Itachi's. "This is no solution!" "It is my only way…" Itachi replied turning away from her pleading eyes. She shook her head and whispered: "Then this is mine…" and turned to look at Sasuke. "Sasuke, Itachi did not kill the Uchiha clan voluntarily. It was a mission…" "Stop it! Do not tell him!" "… given by the Third Hokage." Satsuki continued unwaveringly. "The Uchiha planned a Coup-d'état. To avoid the chaos which would have arisen…" "Satsuki!" Itachi yelled and ran towards her. She had expected that and began to dodge him. "… the Third Hokage gave him the mission to extinguish his own clan. Itachi had no choice. If somebody else had done it, you would not be alive anymore! Try to remember that night! Remember Itachi's face! Does a man who would kill his own family voluntarily really look like him?" She had not paid attention to her path, putting all her desperation into her words. She struggled and Itachi caught her. Quickly he put his hand on her mouth. But he was already too late; she had already planted doubts into Sasuke's heart. After all had she been the female replacement for Itachi and Sasuke trusted her like nobody else. "Is that true, Itachi?" Not able to lie to his little brother, Itachi nodded slowly. "Prove it!" Sasuke said harsh. "You are the living proof…" Satsuki yelled, having shaken off Itachi's hand for a second. Itachi looked at her imploringly. "Please, stop…" he whispered close to her ear. A shiver ran down her spine but she shook her head stubbornly. "I will not watch you getting killed only for the mission to stay top-secret!" she replied quietly. Slowly Sasuke stepped towards them. While Itachi expected an attack, Satsuki freed herself from him and ran to Sasuke. He welcomed her with open arms and returned the hug. Then he lifted her up and turned himself once. "Please, believe me… I didn't know it back then yet but I've always known that he wouldn't do that voluntarily…" she said quietly. Sasuke nodded barely noticeable. He had believed her from the very beginning. He let go of her and walked towards Itachi, who had watched the scene between his girlfriend and his little brother. Satsuki felt the need of the two brothers to talk in private so she left in search for Kisame, whose chackra told her that his fight was finished, as well. When she found him, she told him shortly about the current situation. Then they sat next to each other, waiting in silence.

Finally Itachi and Sasuke emerged from the woods, walking closely next to each other. Satsuki ran towards them with tears of joy in her eyes and kissed Itachi passionately. Sasuke looked at her, grinning, and said: "You did not prepare me for that, Itachi!" The big brother had to grin as well and replied: "I didn't want you to have any more reasons to be even more jealous of me, little brother." Sasuke boxed him lightly on the shoulder and placed a kiss on Satsuki's cheek. Then he threw Kisame a nod and disappeared again in the woods. Questioning Satsuki looked at Itachi. "He's going back to his group." "And we should go back as well." Kisame meant. "Hidan will most likely have turned every pebble by now in search of a certain cold person which has kidnapped his best friend and listener again." Satsuki began to laugh and Kisame couldn't resist the urge to join for long. Itachi smiled contently and pressed Satsuki against him; as if the wind could take her from him.

"Satsuki! Where were you for so fucking long?" Hidan's head welcomed them roaring. Seriously pissed of Kakuzu threw the complaining head at her. "He's benn calling for you the whole time. His body lies on his bed. Please, grant us all the favor to sew him back together or he'll never shut up…" She nodded grinning. Placing a light kiss on Itachi's cheek, she disappeared with Hidan's head in his room.

About ten minutes later a content and silent Hidan left the room. Satsuki followed and went straightly to Pain's office. Quietly knocking she awaited an answer. Receiving one, she entered the room as Pain put down his pen and looked at her. "I'm glad that everyone's safely back." She nodded. "I'm here because of Itachi's blindness…" Expectantly he looked at her. "The fight with Sasuke has put a lot of strain on his eyes. The treatment has to be done soon. I don't think I'll be able to do much when the blindness already started. I'll have to use blood control which means I'll need a certain time of preparation and perhaps somebody who could give me some chackra during the process…." "That's understandable." Pain answered calmly. Together with Konan who had listened silently to the conversation, they went to Itachi's room. He agreed surprisingly quickly.

But as he lay on the bed he became somewhat nervous. "Nothing will happen to you, right?" he asked Satsuki worried. She smiled calmingly at him. "No, the procedure will be done within an hour." She ran her hand over his forehead and told him to close his eyes. As soon as his eyes were closed, Madara stepped up behind her, putting his hands on her temples. It would be the only way to protect her from the Sharingan.

Two hours and some critical moments later Itachi slowly opened his eyes. Immediately he scanned the room for Satsuki. She lay next to him on a bed, Madara bending over her. "What happened?" Itachi asked quickly, getting up. "Nothing, she's only a little tired from fighting the Sharingan all the time. Itachi, I'm really proud of your taste in women. She's wonderful. Itachi ignored his last comment. Unbelieving, his hands wandered to his eyes. "Is something wrong?" a tired voice asked. Itachi looked at Satsuki's weary smile. It was obvious what had confused him. His vision had worsened a lot and though he still had been able to identify the people, he had never been able to see any details. He had never been able to see Satsuki's face clearly, with all the small nuances, the little differences of color in her eyes…

"No" Itachi answered smiling. "Everything's how it was supposed to be now…" Understanding the hint in those words, Pain, Konan and Madara left the room.

"So love is nothing than pain, right?" she said with a threatening tone. Happily Itachi pressed his lips on hers, while she wrapped her arms around his neck. They both liked the idea of lying there forever…


End file.
